Mark Shuttleworth had a dream: the big Linux distros should agree to have version numbers identical to those of kernel components and refresh them every two years. The dream now is more real than ever.

Ask any knowledgeable mobile user, and she will tell you that the best way to securely access the Internet in public places is through a VPN (virtual private network) connection. So if you enjoy sipping coffee at a local cafe while checking email and browsing the Web, a secure VPN connection is a good solution to protect the data traveling to and from your machine.

Google Translate is a really handy service for translating text fragments, but wouldn't it be nice if you could access it directly from your desktop? If the idea makes sense to you, then you'll appreciate the ASTranslator utility.